


Holy Knight

by madammina



Series: Edym the Paladin [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/M, Flashbacks, Gen, In which Paladin is fleshed out, Written before Birth By Sleep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-29
Updated: 2013-07-29
Packaged: 2017-12-21 17:44:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/903064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madammina/pseuds/madammina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Following up on "Paladin", we flash back between Edym's mission to protect the young Kairi, and why he fought Sora in Kingdom Hearts 2.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Holy Knight

Holy Knight  
Edym laid aside his white helm as he sat on the red couch in the inner chambers of Ansem�s palace. This wasn�t Ansem the Wise, as the soldier in his early twenties knew quite well. But Edym was a Paladin, a knight sworn to protect the people, and he was one of the best on the squad. So, when the �leader� of Radiant Gardens called, he came as fast as he could. He tugged his cape around his shoulders as his leader gave off a very cold aura. Ansem entered the room. Though he wore the lab coat he wore when he was human, there was something not human about him now. His silver hair grew long, and his yellow eyes peered out from the dark face. Finally, and most importantly, an insignia had appeared on his chest, faintly visible under his coat.

�"Edym. How are you?�" Edym rose to shake the hands, now covered with black gloves. "�I have an assignment for you. I need you to protect this young girl, she could be critical to my future plans."� Ansem sat down, and flicked a switch. He spoke into the intercom as Edym returned to sitting on the couch. "�Send her in"� was all Edym heard. And then the door to the room opened and a little red head girl in a pink jumper walked tentatively into the room, dragging a plush chocobo like a teddybear. She freaked on seeing Ansem and ran behind Edym, standing on the couch, peering over his shoulder.  
�You are to guard her with your life.� Ansem demanded as Edym felt the girl dig into his shoulders with her fingernails. He was to guard this brat? �Her name is Kairi, and she�s possibly a Princess of the heart.�  
\--  
"�Your name?�" Kairi asked as Edym pulled the helm back onto his blond hair. "�Paladin?�" Edym turned to look at the girl.  
� "Yes, I�'m a paladin. I�'m Edym".�

�"Have� have you ever seen the sea?"� She asked again. "�I'�ve never seen it." � She stopped for a second. �"I� haven't seen Grandma for a while either��." She turned to look at Edym. �"Have you seen her?�" That just added more fuel to the flames. Why would he know where her grandmother was? But she might have been used for the experiments that he had heard about. The bits about how people were being kidnapped and used in experiments. 

�"When did you last see her?�" Edym asked, kneeling on the ground to look her in the face. She gave him a smile. 

�"When Endso took her away! He gave me a lollipop.�" She hugged her chocobo. Seeing Edym�'s look she giggled. �"His name is Boco.�" Edym gave a smile. 

"�Kairi, you want to get up on my shoulders? It'�ll be faster that way.�" 

�"YAY!!"� She squealed as Edym grabbed her about the waist and pulled her ontop of his shoulders. She started to wave at people as Edym walked back to the station.  
\----  
Demyx was being punished. He didn'�t need to figure it out. Between the fact that his chair could not go any lower and how he had utterly failed at the Underworld, Xemnas had told him to paint the castle white. What did NOT help was Axel and Xigbar �accidentally� tipping on white paint buckets on him, several times, so one of his few clean robes was now stained permanently white. The shirtless Demyx sighed and flopped back on his bed. He had been in a funk since the issue with Destiny Islands. He could not protect Kairi like he promised, and in fact had been getting a lot of bad pranks from the other members. The only reason he wasn�'t fired or turned into a dusk was because of the fact he could be a good fighter when he put his mind to it� and they had lost a surprising amount of people in Castle Oblivion. Lexaeus, Larxene, Vexen, Marluxia, Zexion...� where would the Org be if they had lived? And now� Axel had been acting very erratic since Roxas had left, Xemnas was now almost completely ignoring the Organization, Saix was being so much more sensitive to everything. It was a mess. Luxord, Xigbar, and himself were practically the only sane Nobodies left. He reached out to his real sitar also on his bed and strummed it gently with the tips of his fingers. 

What kept him from leaving? That was simple. The Organization was keeping a watch on Kairi. If he wanted to make sure she was safe, he had to stay here. If he knew where she was, he could rescue her and� what? Live out the rest of their days on the run from a bunch of heatless and nobodies? He wouldn�'t subject anyone to that. He heard the darkness activate.

Saix was back.  
\-----  
�"Oy! A lovechild?�" Edgar, the mechanic who really had nothing to do with the Paladins was playing poker with some of the other members. He was also an untamable flirt who hit on anything feminine over 18 and had 2 legs. He also had a tendency to get said females.

�"What are you doing here Edgar? Shouldn'�t you be fixing the pipes in that study room of Ansem�s?� or working on Cid�s �Gummi ship�." Edgar took a sip of his beer in response. �"And don�'t drink in front of her."� Edym gestured to Kairi who was hiding behind his cape again. Edgar shrugged. Despite Edgar�'s reaction, several of the Paladin�s liked having her around. Beatrix, Frimelda, and Delita pulled the girl onto the table. Kairi only hugged the Chocobo tighter as she was frightened by the sudden influx of new people.

�"Hey! Give her some air!�" Edym shouted over the hum. They did so, and a blush rose into Edym�'s face. Kairi crawled to a chair and got off the table before someone could stop her and then ran to behind Edym again. "�Sorry, I think she�'s shy."� Frimelda nodded.

"�I understand."� She knelt down, her green dress spreading out, and pulled out of her pocket a lollipop. "�Here, little miss, do you want some?�" Kairi looked up with fearful and curious eyes at Edym. He nodded. 

�"Her name�'s Frimelda.�" He turned to look at Frimelda. �"She'�s Kairi.�" The red head paladin nodded and offered the cherry lollipop again. Kairi ran out, grabbed the lollipop, and ran back to Edym. 

"�Kairi, say �Thank you� to Paladin Frimelda."� He said sweetly. Kairi nodded, a tad the red sugar already sticking to the side of her mouth.

�"Thank you, Paladin Rim-elda."� Edym hid his smile.

�"Anyway, I'�ve been assigned to protect her for an unknown amount of time. By the great leader himself��." He made sure Kairi was out of the way before he flopped down on the over stuffed and somewhat slashed couch with a groan. Kairi ran and crawled up next to him, holding the lollipop in one hand and Boco in the other. Frimelda sat down on the other side of him, resting her chin on his shoulder armor. 

�"You okay?�" she asked softly as Edgar drew everyone into a poker game. 

�"Maybe� I just wish I knew what Ansem wanted. This is bothering me to no end.� " 

"�Paladin Edym?�" Kairi looked up at him. �"Where can I sleep?�" Frimelda chuckled as Edym sighed. 

"I'�ll give you my room for now, but I�ll try to find some new rooms for you for tomorrow.�" _Maybe I can ever bring her back home. If she doesn'�t drown, no one can bother her there._  
\----  
Demyx raced down the hall until he got to the front foyer. What he DIDN�'T notice though was he had grabbed the wrong cloak, this one was the one painted white. He skidded into the hall as Saix finished his warping out, dragging the fighting and much older from of 

�"KAIRI!�" He called out as she came into view. She looked over at him with shock. And then a smile, like the one she used to give when she was three. 

�"Demyx! Wait� this is the group you belong to? Tell him to let me go!�" She glared at Saix with eyes full of fire. Demyx started to shake his head, Saix outranked him! , then grew serious.

�"Number seven, let her go.�" Demyx demanded dramatically, pointing at Saix. He shook his head, a hollow laugh echoed from his throat.

�"I don�'t think so, number nine. It appears Axel has abandoned us, and I finished up his last assignment, taking that which fuels the Keyblade Master."� His voice, as always, was incredibly cold. He didn'�t even pretend to have emotions like the rest of them. Kairi was still struggling, but had grown a little tired and didn�'t struggle as much.  
\---  
Edym did get permission, and the first thing he did the next morning was stick the still sleepy Kairi on the train. She mumbled and held Boco tighter. Edym lounged next to her on the seat. What was Ansem�s plan. He gave a quick side glance at the girl. She was cute. But what was a �Princess of the Heart.� 

�"So, the rumors are true, eh?�" Braig, one of the assistants of Ansem, walked up to him on the train and took the seat in front of him. The orange sunlight that streamed through the windows gave his hair an odd tint, particularly the white bits. �"Ol�' Even said Ansem had given you the Princess.�" Kairi stirred in her sleep, then woke up.  
�"Braid! I�m a Princess!�" Braig grew scared for a second, and put his hands on his hair� oh, his LONG hair� Kairi jumped off the seat and ran to his. �"Turn around, Braid!"�

"�You'�re not a princess"�� Braig started, then winched as she pulled his hair apart. 

"�I am! And I'�ll use my powers to give you a braid.�" She proclaimed. Edym threw his head back and laughed. 

�"She gives you BRAIDS!�" He laughed. Braig winced.

"�Since she thinks my name is Braid, then yes."� He groaned as Kairi made a very sloppy braid. "�I should really cut this hair��"

"�Then why don'�t you?�" Edym asked as the train stopped at a station. Their stop was just a few stops down. Braig pointed to Kairi as his answer to Edym'�s question. The sun rose higher as the two men talked until Kairi finished doing Braig'�s hair (if he tried to escape, she would pretend to have Boco pester him until he sat still)

"�Here�'s our stop, Kairi.�" Edym announced as the train pulled in. He pulled his suitcase out from beneath the seat, while Kairi dragged a little suitcase with her. He made a mental note to get her some clothes, or at least a bathing suit. �"You coming Braig?"� Braig nodded

"�I'�ll meet you for lunch. Let me get my bag.�" Braig left the train, as Edym carried Kairi onto the platform. 

"Edym� is that�?�" Edym nodded and pulled her over to the railing, right on the edge of the beach. 

"�That'�s the sea.�" Kairi gasped in awe as the deep blue green waves crashed on the surf, gulls circled over head, and the golden sand glimmered with shells, treasures to whoever wanted to look for them. �"You want to go in?�" She squealed and darted down the beach. Edym followed, his cape flapping in the wind. �"Hold up! Wait for me when we get to the water."� He couldn'�t help but grin as the salt smell hit his nose. He was home!  
\----  
"�How about I take care of her then?�" He asked, walking closer to Saix. Saix evaluated his question.

"�Why?"�

�"Because she trusts me. If you said she had trouble running away�.�" Kairi was going to hate him. Saix dropped Kairi�'s hand and pushed Deymx back. Demyx stumbled slightly, but didn'�t budge other then that. Saix pulled out his claymore and started to slam it towards Demyx, who dodged and called out his sitar. When Saix tried to slam him again, Demyx jumped on top of the claymore and used his water clones to Protect Kairi until he arrived in front of her. Before he got there, Saix did manage to hit him from behind, and he fell in front of her. He scrambled up and as he did so, the Thalassa shells she gave him earlier fell out of his pocket. He then heard a gasp as he realized she was watching the back of his cloak.  
\---  
Braig had treated them to lunch, but then had left somewhere. Kairi was currently running in and out of the waves in her new bathing suit. Edym had abandoned most of his armor for the day too. He promised Kairi he would watch Boco, and he did� though he made sure she wasn�t about to drown either. At least he could swim� unlike her. 

�"Oy! Edym!�" Braig walked over to the beach blanket and umbrella where Edym sat. The scientist had furthered defied conventions (he currently wore an eyepatch because of a sand incident on the first day that exacerbated an existing condition. Kairi had to swear not to build sand castles with dry sands after the first day.) because of the bright orange swimmers cap he wore now.

"Hiding, braid?�" Edym asked with a sly grin. Braig nodded. 

"�Anyway, I have a letter here. It�s only a few hours by train, but Ansem sent this.�" Braig handed a letter to Edym, it was in a dark envelope with a strange insignia in the wax, keeping the letter sealed. It looked like some kind of odd heart with a key attached to the bottom. �"What does it say?"  
� "Edym! Edym! What�'s this?�" Kairi ran up to Edym, holding an oval shell with little bits making part of a star at the top. 

�"It�'s a thalassa shell, Miss Kairi."� Kairi giggled and put it in a pail where she had been keeping her shells. �"Don'�t do that. You see� if you gather enough, you can make a necklace. You give them to sailors so they come home.�" She pulled it out, and turned to search for more. �"You�'ll have to look later though, we have to go home."�

"�Aww� why?"� she groaned and stomped her feet.

�"Because Ansem called us back. Rinse off, okay?�" Kairi frowned, then nodded her chubby little face. 

�"Tough break, Edym��" Braig muttered as Kairi took Boco to look at the water one final time. "�It�s really nice here.�"  
\----  
�"Edym!�" Frimelda ran up to Edym as he sulked back from Ansem�s office. "�What happened? Why aren'�t at the ceremony?�"

�"What Ceremony?�" Edym asked. Some sixth sense was going off� _this can�t be good�_

�"Cid�'s ship is ready, they'�re preparing to test it� something doesn�'t feel right though.�" Frimelda frowned, her blue eyes not seeing the ground they glanced at. �"Where�'s Kairi? I thought you would have her longer�.�"

"CRAP!�" Edym shouted and ran towards the office. He KNEW it didn'�t feel right. He stopped to glance at a sign that he hadn�'t noticed. It was for the ceremony about the ship� he had an hour� he raced towards the office and kicked the door down. Ansem was sitting there preparing to take a crying and frightened Kairi to the ship. Edym unsheathed his sword, and held out it�s blade before him.

"�Hold it, Ansem!"� he shouted. He pointed the tip at Ansem. Ansem just chuckled. 

�"Really, Edym, will you take me on by yourself?"� Edym growled but took a breath to respond. This was just too bizarre�

"�I am a Paladin, sworn to protect others. And Kairi was entrusted to ME to protect. You will harm her, and I will protect her.� " Ansem pushed a panel in response to this speech, and a passage opened to the gummi ship area. Ansem grabbed Kairi and slung him over the shoulder, then snapped his fingers. Instantly some bug like creatures made of darkness popped up. Demyx slashed and hacked. A quick use of Nurse put his wounds at bay, then he ran forward again. Another snap, and even more of the dark bugs popped up. He did slashed to cut through the two to right, tried to push another off the side of the path, stumbled from an attack from behind, then used Saint Cross to finish off the rest. Before he could move forward, Ansem had summoned anymore. A drop of sweat trickled off of Edym�s brow. 

�"EDYM!"� Kairi shouted. And Edym charged. He took out the front with what counted as beheading, twirled to counter a new one, this one covered with armor, then slashed the one to his right. Two jumped him from the sides, and another caught him around the legs. He kicked off the one on his legs before stabbing it when he put his sword down point first to pull himself up. He used Saint Cross again, then charged as Ansem opened up the hatch to the gummi ship.

�"EDYM!"� Kairi shouted, tears streaming down her face as Ansem threw Boco away as he tried to stuff her into the ship. 

"�KAIRI!"� Edym shouted in return and charged Ansem, but before he could even get to him, more bug things then he could count appeared from no where and dragged himdown. He struggled, but felt them reaching� into him? _What WERE These things?_ They swarmed him, and before the darkness covered him completely, before he felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest, he saw Kairi�s tear stained face pressed against the glass and Ansem pressing the button for it to be released.  
\----  
�"Edym?"� Kairi gasped as she looked at the white back. �"EDYM? How�... you�'re..."�� Demyx ignored the battle between him and Saix a second. 

"�I _WAS_ Edym� but my promise stands. I promised to protect you, and I will. No matter what."� He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she looked back at him, eyes so different, and so much the same.

"�Unlikely, Number 9."� XEMNAS had appeared. Kairi squeaked like how she had when she was little and instinctively moved behind Demyx�s cloak. " �I ordered her to be kidnapped. You have already proved to be uncapable because of this Personal connection. It�s unfit for a Nobody to harbor kind memories.�" Xemnas stepped slowly across the white tile of the hall, each step echoing against the walls. 

"�I� I�'ll make you a deal.�" Demyx gripped his Sitar�'s bridge tightly. "�If I complete the next mission you give me successfully, I get to help Kairi� at least let me take care of her. �" _Kairi, forgive me for treating you like a bargaining chip�_

"�And what will you put up in return?�" Xemnas asked. "�She is key to our plans.�" Demyx sighed, then responded.

�"My identity as a Nobody�. I'�ll become a dusk.�" _Ask me to put something else up� I want to still be able to protect her� but this is the only thing I can put up that they will accept._

�"Accepted. Now go to Radiant Gardens and fight the Keyblade Master. If you survive� you can protect the Princess whichever way you see fit."  
\----  
The shell of Edym managed to drag itself out of the darkness. It�s face wasn�t truly it�s own. It�s voice wasn�t it�s own� he had lost his white abilities and his swords� the memories were so distant, but he barely cared about them anymore. All he wanted was to find someone� and he had somehow found his way to this white castle. The tattered rags of what had once been a paladin�s armor clung to him as he knocked on the door. To what would have been his surprise, a guy with flaming red hair answered the door, sucking on a cherry lollipop. 

�"What do you want?"� He asked rudely, his entire demeanor exploding with arrogance. But such an odd question.

�"I don'�t know� someone to explain this, I guess. "� He looked down, then back up. �"Can I come in?�" The red head stepped back from the door, but slammed it when the shell of Edym entered. 

"�You can stay� if you can beat me. I'�m Axel, got it memorized?"� He took the lollipop out of his mouth with one hand, and pointed at his temple with another. He threw the lollipop to the side, and held out his hands, weird spiked instruments A sardonic grin graced his face as he moved forward in an attack, which the shell blocked by summoning a Sitar and pulling it infront of him. The Shell then struck a chord, like how he had before he joined the paladins, and water swamped the man named Axel. Axel promptly set himself on fire to dry off, the moved forward to attack again.

�"STOP!�" A very familiar form appeared on steps the shell of Edym hadn�t noticed before. This was a very familiar face�.

"�ANSEM!�" The shell shouted and began to charge, only to be hung upside down by what appeared to be a slightly demented looking Braig. �"Braig! What are you doing"?�

�"EDYM? What took you so long, I thought you had died!"� Braig laughed, and made a motion which let him down. �"And It�s Xigbar now, sorry. So, you�re a Nobody."�

�"I AM a Paladin.�" Edym said, and staggered to his feet.

�"You WERE a paladin��" Ansem responded. �"I am Xemnas, leader of this Organization. I can promise you a way to get your heart back� if you join us. If not, you'�ll have to take on all 8 of us to leave.�" Demented forms of Even and Ienzo appeared now, with others he only knew by sight. This Axel was the only one he didn�t recognize. And he couldn'�t take them on now.

�"Fine"�� He hated it, and he hated that smile of Xemnas� Xemnas made a gesture so golden letters of his name appeared. Another gesture added an X and rearranged his name. "�Welcome�, Demyx".�


End file.
